White monument Taj turning yellow: NGT | Fusion - WeRIndia

Pollution in Agra is turning the milky white monument Taj Mahal yellow. A plea was made on this issue from an environment enthusiast D K Joshi alleging that the extensive burning of municipal solid waste is turning Taj Mahal yellow.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the Centre to answer this matter. Burning all types of wastes including solid and other waste in open in Agra near the Taj and other eco-sensitive zones was controlled by the green panel.

Notice was issued to the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Ministry of Urban Development, Uttar Pradesh government, Central Pollution Control Board and others by the bench. NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar is the head of the bench. The bench has sought the response in two weeks.

Earlier a plea was filed by Agra resident D K Joshi. He appealed that a study conducted on pollution in Agra and near eco-sensitive zone revealed that brown and black carbons along with dust were responsible for pollution near Taj zone. They are turning the monument yellow by giving yellow tinge to the white marble monument. The study was jointly conducted by IIT-Kanpur, Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Wisconsin.

Advocate Rahul Choudhary who filed the plea on behalf of the appellant stated that several guidelines were issued by the parliamentary standing committee to the to the Agra administration to restrain pollution in Agra after the submission of the report of the study. He added that another study revealed that burning of municipal solid waste is releasing a significant amount of particulate matter and as a result the aesthetics of the monument are damaged.

The burning of municipal solid waste (MSW) on a large-scale is releasing high level of particulate matter (PM) into air. Over 2000 metric tonnes of solid waste was being dumped each day in Agra. This is excluding the plastic waste and the plea appealed to control it.

Image credit: Image by Dave Parkinson from Pixabay (Free for commercial use)

Image Reference: https://pixabay.com/it/photos/india-taj-mahal-agra-architettura-866692/